I once worked with a small business who wanted to make their website accessible to as many users as possible. The business owner approached me directly, after reading my book and this blog, to help her reach more customers. She was an ideal client, well-informed and attacking web accessibility both because it made business sense

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) is a law aimed at making the Canadian province of Ontario fully accessible by 2025. The act is a framework for standards to make the Canadian province accessible to all.

The Act wants to create an Ontario of full participation. This means that every Ontario citizen has the

May 15th is this year’s Global Accessibility Awareness Day. A day about promoting web accessibility to people who’ve never heard of it before. It’s a day when people like me do everything we can to spread the good word of web accessibility.

Your users have a range of abilities. Some will instinctively know how to use your website and others will struggle. You can help your users get the most from your website by offering help wherever you can. This is especially relevant to forms, where your users need to input

Some of your users find automatic changes hard to deal with. Unexpected actions can interrupt their concentration and prevent them from reaching their goals. Help your users by keeping them in control and avoiding elements on your website that change automatically.

You can help your users by paying attention to words where the meaning isn’t clear unless the word is pronounced (or spoken). Words like these can make it hard for your users to understand your content, especially if they use a screen reader which could pronounce the

Some of your users need help understanding your content. Using abbreviations can cause confusion and prevent your users from understanding your website. Avoid using abbreviations where you can and explain them when you need to use them.

Abbreviations (like Dr for Doctor) also include acronyms (NATO) and initialisms (FBI).

Some of your users will find it hard to read unusual uses of words on your website. Things like figurative language, idioms and jargon can be difficult to process. Avoid using unusual words where you can and explain the use of words when you need to use them.